Pretty Face Vs Pretty Voice at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies

Hey New Moon Girls!

How many of you have been watching the Olympics!? Well if you watched the Opening Ceremony you may have noticed a cute Chinese girl in a red dress singing "Ode to the Motherland."

However, did you know that the girl, Lin Miaoke (pictured on right), was actually lipsynching?

As it turns out another young girl, Yang Peyi (pictured on left), was chosen for her voice and it was the voice used for the song. However, they picked Lin Miaoke to "sing" in the ceremony because she was the prettier of the two.

The musical director of the show, Chen Qigang, said that "After several tests, we decided to put Lin Miaoke on the live picture, while using Yang Peiyi's voice." "The reason for this is that we must put our country's interest first," he added.

He also said ,"the girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people."

I don't know about you girls, but I find it very upsetting that China would do something like this. The girl with the best voice should have been the one to sing in the ceremony. I don't think it's fair for Yang Peiyi to have a supposedly "prettier" girl use her voice.

In the Olympics if you're the lead gymnast, volleyball player, or runner you're still going to be shown and be recognized for your talent no matter what you look like. Shouldn't the same rules apply to these Chinese girls? What are your thoughts on this? Should China have let Yang Peiyi sing instead?

Sony's New Video Game-"Fat Princess!?"

Hey New Moon Girls!

Do any of you like video games? I know I do once in a while, but I find this new one created by Sony too be very offensive.

The game sounds intriguing enough- you and your teammates battle another team in what’s meant to be a comic medieval battle. The goal is to rescue a princess from a dungeon and bring her back safely. Each of the two teams has a princess on either side that needs rescuing. However your enemy, has been stuffing her with pastries, so she gains weight and it’s harder for your army to carry her back across the battlefield. You can do this to your enemy’s princess as well. The princess can grow to be at least twice her usual size (pictured above), and this is why the game is called “Fat Princess.”

Being overweight is unhealthy and can lead to a number of health problems. I feel like Sony is making a joke out of overeating and obesity by creating a game where the object on one side of the team is to force a girl to gain weight and be “too fat” so your opponent will lose. It’s supposed to be “comical” how enlarged the princess can become, yet I don’t think overeating or weight problems is a laughing matter.

Many feminists are upset over the game claiming it “furthers inappropriate gender stereotypes” and continues a culture of ridicule that many obese people have to endure.

James Green, the lead art director for “Fat Princess” asks “Does it make it better or worse that the concept artist (who designed the look, characters, everything) is a girl?”

I feel like it shouldn’t matter whether or not the game was created by a man or a woman, it is still an offensive game either way. Just because a woman created it doesn’t undermine the feminist critiques of it.

What do you girls think about this game? Do you find it offensive? Would you still play it?

Celebrities Defend Their Body Types!

Hey Girl Bloggers!
Did you know that so many photos you see of celebrities and models have been digitally altered by their photographers? Men are shown with larger than life muscles, and women’s breasts are enhanced by a cup or more and thighs and stomachs are trimmed down. Most of the time models and celebrities accept this as the norm and even expect it.

That’s why I found this story very inspirational.

Actress Keira Knightley star of “Atonement” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” has refused to have her breasts digitally enhanced in publicity photos for her new film “Duchess.” She claims she doesn’t need the added cleavage to feel sexy.

In previous movies like 2004’s “King Arthur,” Knightley’s A-cup breasts were enhanced into C-cup breasts, and Knightley admitted the photos had been altered. She still went along with the campaign, but this time four years later she is stepping up! Courtney Martin author of “Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters” thinks, “that's incredibly brave and could have a huge impact on young women."

Martin also claims that "Keira Knightly is essentially giving young women permission to stand up in their communities and their schools and their families and say, 'Look, this is the way I look and it is OK."

Actress Kate Winslet has also spoken out about photo alteration after she appeared on GQ looking much thinner than usual. She openly criticized the picture claiming the size of her thighs were cut down by a third.

Go Kate and Keira for stepping up and defending your bodies!

Girls' math scores=Boys' math scores!

Hey Girl Bloggers!
Have you ever had someone tell you that boys are better than girls at math!? Well guess what! It’s not true, and there are new studies to prove it! These studies are the largest compilation of math scores ever recorded. Researchers looked at yearly math tests required by the No Child Left Behind education law in 2002. In these tests over seven million children’s statistical test score information was reviewed by gender. These tests were collected from ten different states.
After viewing all these different scores and comparing the boys’ to the girls’, researchers found no difference in the scores of girls versus boys in elementary and high school. Twenty years ago studies showed that scores were equal in elementary school, but boys had better math scores than girls in high school.

Some researchers claim that many parents and teachers tend to think boys have better math skills, so then they are the ones who end up in professional science and technology careers. Hopefully this new study changes things and will give more opportunities to girls in these exciting jobs!

What do you think girls?! Do you like the math classes you have in high school? Do any of you want jobs someday where you need to use math skills?
Let’s here your thoughts on this exciting breakthrough!

New Moon Editor Julia guest posting here...

I just got word from our friends at 5 Resolutions that Claire Mysko's book for girls is out this week!

Claire writes:
"You're Amazing! A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self is based on the Girls Inc. "Supergirl Dilemma" study, which shows that girls are feeling increasing pressures to be perfect and please everyone. Perfectionism is a major source of girls' stress (60% of girls in the study reported that they often feel stressed), low-self-esteem, and poor body image. That's the bad news. The good news is that with the right tools and support systems, girls can learn to give up the quest to be "super" and start celebrating what makes them amazing. My hope is that this book will help to kick-off that celebration.I would like to say a big, big thanks to you, dear readers! Your support and kind words have meant so much to me. Speaking of amazing...you all fit the bill."

To kick things off, Claire is doing a book giveaway on her blog! She says: "Everyone who posts a comment about what makes them amazing is entered to win an autographed copy of the book. The contest runs through July 7th and you can enter here."

Awesome! We'd love to hear what you think of the book and your "what makes me amazing" comments on the New Moon Girls blog too!! :)